LONG-TIME LEADERS CANADA FINISH SECOND IN JAPAN
AUSTRALIA'S LAST-ROUND SURGE WINS
WOMEN'S WORLD AMATEUR TEAM TITLE
NEWS RELEASE
Australia, with a combined 131 from Minjee Lee and Su Oh in the final round, came from seven strokes behind Canada to win the 2014 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship with a 29-under-par 547 at Karuizawa 72 Golf East’s Iriyama Course, Japan.
“They never thought they were out of it but they were close to possibly being out of it,” said Australian captain Matt Cutler. “We had a really slow start to the week with an even par round at Iriyama (Wednesday) and we thought we might have too much work to do. But, it was the fastest start you could ever see coming.”
Australia, winning the Espirito Santo Trophy for the third time, took the lead through six holes of the final round as Lee, No. 1 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™, was 4 under through five holes on an eagle and two birdies and Oh was 3 under with three birdies.
Lee, 18, who was tied for 22nd at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open, finished with an eagle and five birdies for a 65 while Oh, who is No.6 in the WAGR™, tallied six birdies for a 66.
Neither recorded a bogey. Shelly Shin, a semi-finalist at the 2014 U.S. Girls’ Junior, posted a non-counting 72.
The Australians broke the mark for a final-round comeback of three strokes, which was set by their countrymen in 2002 in Malaysia. Their 72-hole total of 547 was one stroke shy of South Korea’s record-low in 2010 and their final-round 131 is second-best all-time.
“We talked last night that if you broke it down as an individual and you were three or four strokes down through 54 holes, you could give yourself a chance,” said Cutler. “And, we were seven down so that’s how we approached it.
The winner of the 2014 Victorian Open and Australian Amateur, Lee was playing in her second WWATC.
“I wanted to make it this something to remember,” said Lee, who won the 2012 U.S. Girls’ Junior. “I have matured so much in two years and I wanted this to be a priceless experience for everyone.”
With scores of 64 in the third round and 65 in the final round, Lee fueled the Australian move up the leaderboard on both days. They moved from 12th to fourth in the third round and fourth to victory in the final round.
Canada, which led on each of the first three days and was vying for its first WWATC win, placed second at 27-under 549 behind the outstanding play of WAGR™ No.2 Brooke Mackenzie Henderson.
It was Canada’s fourth silver medal. South Korea, which won the title in 2010 and 2012, finished third at 550.
“Australia had a great round today, I was really impressed,” said Henderson, who finished tied for 10th at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open and was runner-up at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur. “They have very skilled players, including two in the top 10 in the world rankings, which is unbelievable. It’s a little disappointing to finish second but overall we had a really great week and played really well as a team.”
Although there is no official recognition, Henderson led the individual standings at 19-under 269, which breaks the WWATC mark of 274 set by Lydia Ko in 2012.
Denmark finished fourth at 556, followed by Sweden and the USA tied for fifth at 557, Mexico in seventh at 560, England and host Japan tied for eighth at 562 and the Philippines in 10th at 563.
For the final round, the top half of team scoring played the Iriyama Course and the other half played Oshitate.
The 2016 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship will be played in Cancun, Mexico.
Final leaderboard
Scotland, handicapped by the loss of Eilidh Briggs with back problems after the first round, struggled to finish 40th in the field of 50 countries with a total of 608 - 61 strokes behind winners Australia
Here is how the GB and I teams performed:
562 (T8) ENGLAND 147 134 138 142
274 Bronte Law 71 65 67 71
288 Hayley Davis 76 69 72 71
302 Gabriella Cowley 76 75 77 74
583 (T25) WALES 146 144 145 148
286 Chloe Williams 71 74 70 71
303 Becky Harries 79 70 77 77
304 Katie Bradbury 75 77 75 77
593 (33rd) IRELAND 141 150 146 156
297 Paula Grant 70 75 73 79
301 Maria Dunne 71 75 78 77
308 Mary Doyle 80 76 73 79
608 (40th) SCOTLAND 154 151 152 151
297 Gemma Dryburgh 75 76 73 73
311 Gabrielle Macdonald 79 75 79 78
Withdrew: Eilidh Briggs 80 -- -- -- --
50 countries were represented
WOMEN'S WORLD AMATEUR TEAM TITLE
NEWS RELEASE
Australia, with a combined 131 from Minjee Lee and Su Oh in the final round, came from seven strokes behind Canada to win the 2014 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship with a 29-under-par 547 at Karuizawa 72 Golf East’s Iriyama Course, Japan.
Australia team members, all of South Korean extraction, Shelly Shin (left), Minjee Lee and Su Oh lift the Espirito Santo Trophy. (Copyright IGF/Steven Gibbons)
“They never thought they were out of it but they were close to possibly being out of it,” said Australian captain Matt Cutler. “We had a really slow start to the week with an even par round at Iriyama (Wednesday) and we thought we might have too much work to do. But, it was the fastest start you could ever see coming.”
Australia, winning the Espirito Santo Trophy for the third time, took the lead through six holes of the final round as Lee, No. 1 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking™, was 4 under through five holes on an eagle and two birdies and Oh was 3 under with three birdies.
Lee, 18, who was tied for 22nd at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open, finished with an eagle and five birdies for a 65 while Oh, who is No.6 in the WAGR™, tallied six birdies for a 66.
Neither recorded a bogey. Shelly Shin, a semi-finalist at the 2014 U.S. Girls’ Junior, posted a non-counting 72.
The Australians broke the mark for a final-round comeback of three strokes, which was set by their countrymen in 2002 in Malaysia. Their 72-hole total of 547 was one stroke shy of South Korea’s record-low in 2010 and their final-round 131 is second-best all-time.
“We talked last night that if you broke it down as an individual and you were three or four strokes down through 54 holes, you could give yourself a chance,” said Cutler. “And, we were seven down so that’s how we approached it.
The winner of the 2014 Victorian Open and Australian Amateur, Lee was playing in her second WWATC.
“I wanted to make it this something to remember,” said Lee, who won the 2012 U.S. Girls’ Junior. “I have matured so much in two years and I wanted this to be a priceless experience for everyone.”
With scores of 64 in the third round and 65 in the final round, Lee fueled the Australian move up the leaderboard on both days. They moved from 12th to fourth in the third round and fourth to victory in the final round.
Canada, which led on each of the first three days and was vying for its first WWATC win, placed second at 27-under 549 behind the outstanding play of WAGR™ No.2 Brooke Mackenzie Henderson.
It was Canada’s fourth silver medal. South Korea, which won the title in 2010 and 2012, finished third at 550.
“Australia had a great round today, I was really impressed,” said Henderson, who finished tied for 10th at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open and was runner-up at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur. “They have very skilled players, including two in the top 10 in the world rankings, which is unbelievable. It’s a little disappointing to finish second but overall we had a really great week and played really well as a team.”
Although there is no official recognition, Henderson led the individual standings at 19-under 269, which breaks the WWATC mark of 274 set by Lydia Ko in 2012.
Denmark finished fourth at 556, followed by Sweden and the USA tied for fifth at 557, Mexico in seventh at 560, England and host Japan tied for eighth at 562 and the Philippines in 10th at 563.
For the final round, the top half of team scoring played the Iriyama Course and the other half played Oshitate.
The 2016 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship will be played in Cancun, Mexico.
Final leaderboard
Scotland, handicapped by the loss of Eilidh Briggs with back problems after the first round, struggled to finish 40th in the field of 50 countries with a total of 608 - 61 strokes behind winners Australia
Here is how the GB and I teams performed:
562 (T8) ENGLAND 147 134 138 142
274 Bronte Law 71 65 67 71
288 Hayley Davis 76 69 72 71
302 Gabriella Cowley 76 75 77 74
583 (T25) WALES 146 144 145 148
286 Chloe Williams 71 74 70 71
303 Becky Harries 79 70 77 77
304 Katie Bradbury 75 77 75 77
593 (33rd) IRELAND 141 150 146 156
297 Paula Grant 70 75 73 79
301 Maria Dunne 71 75 78 77
308 Mary Doyle 80 76 73 79
608 (40th) SCOTLAND 154 151 152 151
297 Gemma Dryburgh 75 76 73 73
311 Gabrielle Macdonald 79 75 79 78
Withdrew: Eilidh Briggs 80 -- -- -- --
50 countries were represented
Labels: Amateur Ladies
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